I am a scholar of early modern philosophy. My research focuses primarily on the intricate inter-relations between metaphysics and physics in the early modern period in such figures as Hobbes, Descartes, Spinoza, Henry More and Newton. Within this context, most of my research is devoted to investigating Spinoza’s thought while simultaneously situating his views within major philosophical debates of his time. One of the questions that particularly interests me is how to understand finite bodies (such as a tree, or my own human body) within Spinoza’s metaphysics in light of his famous proclamation: “Apart from God nothing can be or be conceived” (Ethics, Part One, Proposition 14). More recently, I have been tracing how the metaphysical foundations for a physics that Spinoza establishes were perceived by Newton and his contemporaries to be a threat to their own accounts which rely heavily on God as a creator.
I joined the philosophy department at the Hebrew University in the fall of 2023, and am the director of the Edelstein Center for the History and Philosophy of Science, Technology and Medicine. In addition, I am a member of the research group “Passivities” at the Mandel Scholion Center (Mandel School for Advanced Studies in the Humanities), 2023-2026. Previously I held an appointment in the philosophy department at Ben-Gurion University (2013-2023) and have been a visiting scholar at Harvard University (Summer 2018, and 2022-2023).